


EVOL

by MatrixDream



Series: BW & BM FFs [1]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Beast Wars
Genre: Dom/sub Undertones, Dubious Consent, Enemies to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kissing, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mentions of past genital torture, Past Torture, Scarring, Sticky Sexual Interfacing, Superfetation, Trauma, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-11
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-31 13:13:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12682608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MatrixDream/pseuds/MatrixDream
Summary: Their battles aren't without witty comebacks, though something seems a little off during their fight. Neither think anything of it. Rampage later can't figure out what's happening to his body. It turns out he's in his first mating cycle and his nemesis happens to stumble across him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Take this garbage! 
> 
> I'd like to thank and apologize to my Beta-reader the lovely EarlyMorningMassacre, for forcing them to read this. 
> 
> There is some hinted non-con at the end, but it has nothing to do with the main ship.

 

       "Depth Charge! Get back here!" The aforementioned mech ignored the monkey as he transformed and flew away from the Maximal base in a rush.

       Who did Primal think he was? He wasn't much of a leader or friend and he especially had no say in what the ray did. Even if the blue mech was part of his lousy team, Depth Charge had one goal and nothing was going to stop him from achieving it. 

       "Protoform X is in the vicinity." His scanner alerted him, cutting off his frustrated thoughts.

       "Where?" He demanded, waiting for the coordinates to appear on his HUD. 

       "Twelve klicks." The synthesized voice replied as he followed the coordinates over a forest. Approaching quickly, he transformed into his bipedal mode and took cover behind a boulder. His wings scraped irritatingly across the hard surface as he turned to look, but he ignored the sensation as he spotted his target. 

       Rampage sat in a clearing playing with little organic creatures, probably out of pure boredom. Picking up two small rats, he began smashing them together while making fighting sound effects. He cackled to himself before lifting one of the screaming rodents and tossing it into his open intake. "Eck, too squishy." He complained, cringing as he shook his helm before throwing the other away.        

        "Didn't know you were changing your diet." Depth Charge commented as he revealed himself, gun at the ready. 

       Rampage turned to face him, not fazed by the sudden appearance of his enemy in the least. "Not changing it so much as trying something new," The crab chuckled, standing up and brushing himself off. "But nothing will truly quench my craving for the day I get the pleasure of tasting you." 

        "Not happening, X. I'm taking you down, here and now." 

       "Don't make promises you can't keep," He winked, smirking as the other mech's fist's clenched, the ray tensing before pulling back, repulsed and incredibly unnerved by the uncomfortable wordplay this conversation was becoming. "Aw, don't be like that. I'm just having fun, old friend." 

        "Fun time's over." Depth Charge said as he pulled out his gun, shooting the ex-experiment without a second thought, causing the large frame to fly backward. 

       "Right down to business then." Rampage muttered, easily recovering as he stood again. The blue mech took more shots in the hopes to slow him down, resulting in him retaliating with a shot from his own gun.

       The time it took Depth Charge to dodge was enough time for the crab to close the distance and throw in a punch. He quickly blocked before returning the attempted blow. The other mech caught his fist and tried again, but he also stopped that punch. They were face to face with no free servo as they inhibited the other from throwing another punch. So, instead he tried to get a pede in there, but the red mech blocked the kick. Preparing to charge up his chest blaster, his communications system paused the battle as he received a comm from Optimus to return to base.

       : Not now, Primal. I'm a little busy. : He grunted out as he forced his nemesis back.

       "You should answer your boss, fins. Don't mind me." Rampage cackled as he pushed right back. His malicious mirth was cut off by him also conveniently getting a comm, from Megatron.

       It was Depth Charge's turn to laugh at the growl the other mech emitted. "Stupid slagger." Rampage muttered before shoving the ray away with all his strength and transforming. "Until next time, old friend!" He called, making his escape as Depth Charge cursed loudly, unable to follow as Optimus continued to nag. With a sigh, he also decided to return to his base, sneering before transforming as well and leaving. 

* * *

 

       Sand filled Rampage's servo as he tightened his fists in the water. His torso was submerged in the cold liquid, but it did nothing to cool his boiling frame as his cooling fans practically screamed. Panting, he spread his legs wider in a futile attempt to lower his temperature. The pitiful sound his vocalizer emitted as arousal continued to make his groin throb would never be admitted to. He didn't understand what was happening, but he needed to get rid of this overwhelming feeling. Squeezing his optics shut, he tentatively touched his interface array before pulling back instantly with a hiss as it was scalding, but the act itself made him uneasy as well.

Sucking in an in-vent, he tried again, slightly more prepared this time. Carefully tracing his digits over his cod-piece, he groaned softly and pressed into his own touch. Despite the inexperience and apprehension it actually felt, almost, pretty good. Slowly he explored his panel, testing out what felt okay and what didn't, but he had to admit it all felt fairly decent thanks to whatever was affecting him. Still, after some more experimenting, he decided to get it over with and opened his array, watching his spike pressurize. He hesitated again before reaching out and touching it. Cautiously he wrapped his servo around his length and stroked it once. Trying to figure out what to do was frustrating but rubbing up the shaft seemed to do the job. Only picking up the pace when he became more confident, he adjusted his grip and angle a few times before brushing the head of his spike causing his breath to hitch. 

       "What the frag?" His servos flew off his equipment and he turned to the origin of the voice, unexpectedly startled, "That explains things."

       "What?" He snapped glaring at none other than Depth Charge, who couldn't have picked a worse situation. 

       "Heat cycles always have such unfortunate timing." The manta ray shook his helm before glaring right back.

       "My what?" Rampage's optic ridges furrowed in frustrated confusion.

       Depth Charge paused, raising an optic ridge before throwing his head back and laughing, causing the crab to growl at him. "You're saying you've never dealt with a heat cycle before?" He asked, amused. The silent scowl he got in response confirmed as such. "I could kill you right now," He raised his weapon, the exposed mech didn't even flinch at the sudden shift in demeanour, as he pondered aloud. "But, I think I'll let you suffer." He lowered it.

       "You're too kind." Rampage bit out trying to remain stoic as his 'heat cycle' flooded him with arousal. 

       Depth Charge aimed his gun at the ex-experiment again. "Don't think for a second this is mercy. I should give Megatron a call, I wonder what he'd have to say about this."

       "No!" Rampage shouted, lunging forward before he could stop himself. "Kill me now or leave. You'll get no better opportunity than this, I can assure you." He settled back down when there was no follow through on the other mech's threat. 

       With a shrug, Depth Charge began walking away, but he didn't turn his back on the serial killer, even in such a pitiful state. He wanted his victory to be a hard-earned battle, there was no justice in taking the mech out like this. As he started leaving, the red mech let out an involuntary whine. That sent some unneeded feelings deep within Depth Charge's spark. He stopped, clenching his fist before sighing angrily as he silently cursed his damn Maximal spark. "A good frag will stop it." He muttered.

       "What?" Rampage snapped.

       "I said: a good frag will stop it! So, go get one of Megatron or his goons to help you out!" Depth Charge repeated louder, growling.

       Leaning back, Rampage looked surprised by the tip from his nemesis before actually considering what it was. There was no way he was letting any Predacon near his interface array. "I'm not letting Megatron or any of those other buffoons near me." He voiced as such.

       "Don't expect me to help you." It had been meant as an offhanded comment. 

       Though he hadn't even thought of it, now he was definitely thinking about it. Oh, that alone increased his arousal tenfold. The thought of being pinned under his old playmate caused his valve to give a strong, unexpected throb. He shivered and shook his helm as lust began to cloud his processor. 

       Depth Charge scolded himself for even thinking it let alone saying it out loud. The mating cycle must've been affecting his beast mode more than he realized and he should probably leave but, he didn't. The carnal desire already buried deep inside of him only amplified by his own beastly instincts. Normal Cybertronians cycles usually weren’t this potent, which just added another thing to the list of reasons why this planet sucked. Fragging wonderful. 

As the minutes passed by he found himself actually wanting it and seeing his enemy all hot and bothered did things to him he probably should've slapped himself for. "I hate you," He stated, surprising the other mech more so with the suddenness rather than the actual statement, though what he said next shocked the crab more. "If we never speak of this and you do everything I say...I'll help you. This is a one-time thing, so don't even think about trying anything or I will rip out your spark." Oh, he was going to regret this.

       "Interesting proposition. Especially coming from you, fins." Rampage murmured, he couldn't handle this chatting for much longer. His body craved a good fragging and that salvation might possibly be in front of him, but through the layers of arousal, apprehension hung. The possibility of his enemy being gentle was incredibly doubtful and quite frankly, he expected it as much as he'd expected the offer in the first place. Not at all.

       Though, he didn't have much choice as the blue mech easily had more knowledge on a heat cycle than he did. He survived far worse than this and his possible partner was certainly...appealing at the very least. Might as well get the pain over with, who knew how long this heat would last if he refused...And who the next to 'offer' assistance might be. So, he agreed.

       "This changes nothing between us, I'm still going to be the one to snuff your spark when this is over." Depth Charge cut off his nemesis' musing.

       "I wouldn't have it any other way." He stood, shameless as his array remained exposed, and left the water in favour of the rock face. It was mildly disappointing when the ray didn't immediately approach. However, it was understandable, though he was still getting impatient. 

       Depth Charge continued to blame primal instinct as he finally joined. Sitting in front of the Predacon with a glare, he could feel the heat pour off of the other's frame in thick waves. The other mech squirmed in discomfort and he couldn't help smirking; just because he said he would help doesn't mean he won't still make the crab suffer. He was pleasantly surprised by the show of restraint though, especially during a heat cycle.

       Then again, as he looked down at the sizable puddle of lubricant between the heat struck mech's thighs, he decided it might be better to just get this over with as quickly as possible, all threats aside. Dipping his servos into the fluid, he refused to look as he wrapped them around his enemy's spike. Though with no point to focus on, curiosity eventually got the better of him and a quick glance turned into full out gawking. He was thankful for his mask covering the expression.

       It wasn't the size that caused such a reaction—even if Rampage was pretty damn huge—so much as the condition it was in. Scars littered the kaleidoscopic spike causing Depth Charge to internally cringe as he almost felt every one of them. Sympathy began blooming in his spark again, but this time he didn't completely quash it down just...dulled it. Instead, he decided to at least make his efforts a bit more pleasurable instead of just jerk it and be done with it. Working his right servo in a slow rhythm up the shaft, he made sure to hit as many sensors and ridges as possible. He tried to ignore the erotic sounds of encouragement as his left servo played with the pointed spike tip.

       "Nngh~" Rampage's hips lifted into the motion and his fans stuttered as he let out a soft moan. Stopping himself from thrusting into those wonderful servos felt impossible. Frag, it felt so much better than when he was doing it. He hadn't known what to expect—probably something bordering on extremely painful—and he still didn't, but this growing feeling deep within his groin certainly wasn't anything he'd felt in this area before.

       At first, he'd refused to take his optics off of his enemy in fear of agony. Maybe a little astonishment as well, but as the pleasurable pressure increased and his spike was still being stroked, Megatron himself couldn't stop him from tilting his helm back. His digits curled against the rock as the ray's motions became more fluid, causing him to release one of the most obscene and embarrassing noises he'd let out today. 

       Depth Charge instantly shut down his fans before they could unwittingly startup, but he couldn't suppress the shiver briefly rattling his frame. This damn heat. He hadn't dared to look at the crab in hopes of avoiding this but apparently lewd sounds could also arouse his traitorous frame. Deciding to increased his ministrations, he hoped to finally get an overload out of the heat struck mech and get this over with sooner. Giving the base a firm squeeze granted him a positive reaction.

       Rampage froze and grunted, transfluid spurting from his spike before streaming down the shaft. This response was lost on him, but the feeling was undoubtedly  _ intoxicating _ . His frame had seized in pain more often than not, but feeling his components lock up from pure pleasure was so new. It wasn't even over and already he wanted more. 

       Pettily, Depth Charge instantly wiped what got on his servo onto the other mech's thigh which went unnoticed by the dazed Pred. Who, was giving him the stupidest but most flattering look ever directed at him. Those bright green optics were hyper-focused on him, far more than in the past. He wasn't too sure how to feel about this look of, of adoration? Like he was some sort of interface god, but that had been nothing. It was conflicting, trying to decide whether to rely on this unexpected urge to blow the crab away, and not in the way of weapons, or to give into his discomfort or his rage or shame or lust or all the other mixed emotions he was feeling. So, he gave into his frame and decided to go along with whatever happens. 

       Once Rampage looked somewhat recovered, Depth Charge reached lower and was surprised by the flash of fear in his enemy's optics. Raising an optic ridge, he eyed the tense frame below him before shifting his gaze farther down. Despite himself, he finally actually looked at what he was working with. Again, he was equally shocked and appalled, the latter more so was over the state of the other mech's array. Even more scarring was visible on the ex-experiment's valve, but that was just what was immediately visible. Still, it was impressive in a twisted way, given the fact that the mech before him could heal practically any damage with minimal sign of the infliction. This was quickly becoming too much, as even more conflicted feelings topped the already existing mix. At least he was sure of one thing. 

       "I'm not letting you spike me." He stated aloud, and he was not going to waver on this. Even so, his optics were still glued to his nemesis' valve. Horrid abrasions aside, it was so much prettier than there was any right for such an ugly bot to have. Thick red lips surrounded by dotted green biolights, a white and black anterior node at the apex, and gold lines lead to purple interior mesh. It was a struggle to look away, and that was a major problem. Though he quickly covered up his hesitation with a glare.

       " _ Fine."  _ Rampage muttered, returning the disgruntled look but bracing himself regardless as he sat up a bit more to keep a close eye on what the other mech would be doing to him. 

       The ray snorted in reply, before returning to what he was previously going to do. The Pred was still tense beneath his touch, but he ignored that as he made contact, earning him the sound of hitching vents in response. Rubbing over the monochrome anterior node with the heel of his palm, he watched with reluctant interested as his 'lover' gripped the rock beneath them before sliding back down as the unexpected pleasure was too much. However, he wasn't told to stop, so he continued, cupping the crimson lips to establish further stimulation as well. 

       Rampage was unsure of what to do with himself, desperately he wanted to touch the ray but he didn't want to risk causing the Maximal to stop. His hands felt useless at his sides, only disrupting pebbles as he clawed into the ground. It was too much, but not enough. This heat cycle craved more, as did his frame, but he had so little experience. His spark thrummed like mad, his frame burned and his loins sparked with each brush of those cool digits. One began to push inside of him and he couldn't bite back the moan that slipped out of his vocalizer. Involuntarily, his thighs attempted to close in response as he squirmed over the feeling. 

       Depth Charge released a slightly aggravated sigh, using his other servo to nudge the crab's legs back open, freeing his working servo. Slipping another digit in, he pressed between the mech's thighs, keeping them open with his own hips. "Stop squirming." He grunted out, his voice rough from his own begrudging arousal. 

       Rampage complied to the best of his ability, bringing a servo to his faceplate and biting down on one of his digits. It occupied at least one of his servos, and the small bursts of self-inflicted pain were a quick distraction. Pain, he knew how to deal with. This insistent pleasure that continued to course through his frame, heightened by every touch of his old playmate, that was a much more difficult feeling to figure out. Yet, he wanted more, so he tried to stay still, even if his legs clamped a little tighter around the other mech's hips with each pump of, now, three digits. 

       His spark raced as the charge began to crescendo once again. The rush of his second overload nearly distracting him from the sound of the Maximal's cod-piece snapping open. He would've laughed over how his state seemed to affect his nemesis, but he was still quite vulnerable beneath the ray. Besides, he had a feeling they weren't quite done yet. 

       Regardless, Depth Charge still hesitated, as this was the point of no return. He could stop this now and walk away, deeming this good enough and leaving. But that presented the problem of the reality that he wanted to go all the way. His worst enemy, completely at his mercy, submissive beneath him. So easy to overpower. It was thrilling in simultaneously the worst and best way possible. He had control and he wasn't going to let go of it now. 

       Without a word, he removed his fingers. It had been so long since he'd gotten to interface because of the very mech he was going to be interfacing, irony at its finest. Though thinking further into that would bring up more problems and hesitations, so he stopped thinking as he grabbed the back of Rampage's thigh, lifting it and dragging him closer. He tried to sit up again to see what was going on, but the ray leaned forward, pushing him back and pinning him there with a servo directly over his spark chamber. No doubt the mech could feel his spark hammering in its casing. 

       Depth Charge kept the larger mech down, wrapping the leg he was previously gripping, around his hip. Slowly he pushed into the Pred's valve and he'd be damned before he'd admit how good it felt. Even the scars added a strange extra texture to the already wet walls clenching around him. He couldn't stop himself from physically and unfortunately  _ verbally _ reacting.  

       Rampage was conflicted on how to feel as he gasped and squirmed, biting down harder onto his digit. The other mech stretching him wasn't uncomfortable but the memories associated with the feeling were, but this felt good, more than good. His body and vocalizer purred in approval without his conscious consent. But when his partner began moving is when he completely melted, uncaring of the noises he released as his heat and frame finally got what it was asking for.

       Depth Charge wanted to scold himself for how aroused he had gotten over this, but couldn't find it in himself to do so. It really had been too long, as he already felt his own overload creeping up. He didn't try to hold it off, as the sooner he finished, the better. 

       Within minutes, Rampage got his third overload, and Depth Charge his first and last as the strain knocked out the former mech. Which left probably the hundredth opening for the ray to go in for the kill, but it was still a chance he did not take. He was too ashamed and tired, leaving his nemesis in favour of cleaning himself up before transforming and heading back to base, to stew in regret. 

* * *

 

     Rampage onlined slowly, dazed and confused as he slowly began to sit up. Looking around confirmed he was alone, but the _surprisingly_ pleasant soreness and warmth in his lower half left no illusions to the reality of what had transpired earlier. His heat seemed to be currently sated, as stated, which left him feeling conflicted. He wanted that feeling back if only to get the Maximal's servos back onto him. However, it was wise not to try his luck, as he was also a little shocked to find himself actually still alive after the whole ordeal. The only proof of it being a few paint transfers on his body and the evidence inside of him, as waves from the ocean had cleaned the rock face of any remaining fluids. 

       "Ah, there you are," A familiar voice startled him out of his content daze. "We've been looking everywhere for you, yessss." Megatron approached from a ledge above the other mech. 

       "Go away." Rampage snapped, glaring at his 'boss'. 

       "That's no way to speak to me!" Megatron raised his voice, reaching for the compartment where he kept the ex-experiments partial spark. Though clearly thought better of it as he instead clasped his hands together. "After all, I've come to help you. I've been able to smell your predicament from a mile away." 

       "I don't want your help!" The crab shakily stood, ready to defend himself or slip into the water behind him. 

       "I don't believe you have much of a choice, Rampage." This time Megatron didn't hesitate in grabbing the cube containing the mech's spark, effectively dissuading any retaliation as he approached. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Rampage and Depth Charge inevitably get into a fight, it's obvious that Rampage isn't so clear on the concept of a 'one-time thing'. He tries to seduce the ray, Depth Charge is not happy and storms off. Leaving the former rejected, but not quite deterred.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of rape/ non-con at the beginning. A bit dubious in some areas. Most of the NSFW content is just reference in this chapter. 
> 
>  
> 
> I did have a lot of fun with this one though, and thank you to the lovely Early MorningMassacre for beta-reading it.

      The water was cold and irritating, but still brought its own kind of relief. Sitting in it, Rampage cleaned his sore and soiled equipment, his mood sour. Unwanted transfluid caked his thighs and array, having long become tacky despite his best attempts to remove it. Although his heat cycle was presently over, having ended  _ days _ ago, Megatron kept the bot in his service for a good while longer than necessary. Only having finally recently released the crab. Leaving Rampage now dour and dirty, left to his own devices and enjoying that at the very least. However, being a Predacon meant he wouldn't get the luxury of time to himself for long.

* * *

 

 

       Avoidance had layers and different amounts of depth, with each having a unique meaning. It wasn't unfamiliar, and Depth Charge had experienced many forms of it. He avoided most of his feelings, practically all of them, typically he also avoided situations he didn't want to be in. Currently, he was avoiding both. Avoiding Rampage.

       Not that it was hard as he hadn't shown up in a battle for the almost entirety of a week since their last...encounter. Which was both relieving and frustrating for the ray, who was still a mess of anger, confusion, and other emotions that were elected to be ignored. Though, knowing X, he wouldn't stay away for long, meaning the Maximal would have to face both him and this frustrating befuddlement sooner or later. 

       Unfortunately, it did come much sooner than welcomed, as an emergency comm from Silverbolt disrupted the overall boring quietness of the main room. Instantly Primal was demanding more information, his worried shouting dissuaded everyone in the room from retreating back into their respective thoughts. Blackarachnia was the one to answer back, explaining that they had been attacked on their scouting mission and telling from the sounds of blaster fire, she had to dodge it every time she looked up to name off their attackers. 

       Waspinator, a shot, Inferno, more blaster fire, Quickstrike, an explosion. When she stated that Megatron was there, it was clear to see Optimus was now guaranteed to enter that fight. Though, the arachnid wasn't done, when she said X's name, instinctually Depth Charge's attention was caught and held as a scowl formed just as automatically at the sound of his enemy's name. 

       :I don't care who you send, just hurry up, would ya?: Blackarachnia complained, before ending the call, most likely to focus on the battle. 

       "Alright!" Optimus turned away from the console to face his team. "Rhinox, you stay here. Rattrap and Cheetor, you're coming with me." He announced, getting a nod of affirmation from the named mechs. However, he hesitated before looking at the ray. "Depth Charge, you'll come too." 

       That caught everyone by surprise, but of course, Rattrap was the one to say something. "Not ta disagree with ya boss monkey, but uh, why?" 

       "Because, Rattrap, I'll be against Megatron, you and Cheetor can back up Blackarachnia and Silverbolt. I trust Depth Charge to face Rampage." Optimus explained.

       "Makes sense, makes sense. What kind of 'facing we talkin' about?" Rattrap chuckled and winked.

       Depth Charge growled and glared at the rodent. Ever since he had come back with a few extra paint transfers noticeably closer to his lower region than usual, Rattrap had insisted on pointing it out and continuously making jokes about low blows or more  _ suggestive  _ remarks. Not that he actually knew anything, he just enjoyed getting under anyone's plating. 

       "He's talking about  _ fighting _ Rampage, yeesh, and everyone thinks  _ I'm _ the  _ oblivious _ one." Cheetor rolled his optics, completely oblivious to the subtext of the conversation. 

       Primal was more privy to it but decided to set the example of ignoring the smallest mech's comments. "Unless you would like to be the one fighting him, Rattrap?"

       Rattrap threw his servos up in surrender, shaking his helm. "Eh, no way, no how! I'll stick with the kid. Rampage is all yours, fish sticks." 

       "It's settled then. No more time to lose, let's go." Optimus transformed, prompting those following him to as well before they all departed for the battlefield. 

  
  


       Blackarachnia and Silverbolt had been patrolling the outskirts of Maximal territory near the Predacon area; landing themselves in some hot water when the Preds decided they had gotten close enough. At least it meant the battle was in a clearing with decent coverage, making it easy for backup to find and hide or join in. 

       Formations had been discussed on the way, with Rattrap being expected to give cover to the wounded pair, while Cheetor assisted the extremely damaged Silverbolt away from the battle. Blackarachnia escorting both of them the rest of the way back to base for some needed time in the CR chamber, while the cheetah got back into the fight. He and Rattrap keeping Inferno, Waspinator, and Quickstrike occupied while Optimus fought against Megatron. 

       Rampage was focused on the mouse and cat, his attention only being diverted when a familiar blaster bullet hit his cover. He scowled as he was pelted by disturbed pebbles, before turning his blazing gaze to his adversary. "You missed." He smirked. 

       "Come a little closer, I won't miss again." 

       Despite the threat, he did approach the ray, their battle quickly breaking off from the rest. Currently, it was a firefight, but with how routinely they found themselves fighting the other, there was no doubt it would be hand to hand combat soon enough. Even still, they circled each other, sending shots back and forth, dodging as if it were a dance. 

       "It's been a while. Did you miss me?" Rampage asked, moving out of the way as a bullet nearly clipped his arm. 

       "Just been practicing for when you're dead." 

       "You wound me." He feigned hurt, his free servo over his chest as their circling got closer. 

       Finding an opening, Depth Charge punched the red mech, knocking the blaster away. "How's that?"

       "Hm, painful, but not nearly as bad as when you left me all alone on the beach. No call or anything." The crab roundhouse kicked his gun away as well. 

       "I'll make sure to leave my comm frequency in your empty spark chamber next time." Scrap, he had just implied there would be a next time. 

       Of course Rampage wouldn't let it just slide as mere combat back and forth banter. "Next time you say? I like the sound of that." Using the close proximity and the opening from the distraction, he managed to knock the other mech back, pinning the ray beneath him. 

       "Get off of me, creep!" Depth Charge tried to get up, wriggling to try to get one of his legs free. He was having difficulty, but he was almost relieved that this situation didn't seem quite as life or death as their past battles. Still, it wasn't a favourable position and he continued to struggle out of it, managing to free one of his servos. 

       "Gah! Predacons, retreat!" Megatron hollered after realizing they were outnumbered and he was bleeding heavily from damage delivered by Optimus. 

       His leader's exclamation had caught Rampage's attention, distracting him for the briefest of moments. It was just enough time for Depth Charge to curl his servo into a fist before delivering a swift punch to the side of the large mech's helm. Knocking the crab aside, he was finally freed and stood up instantly, glaring down at the Pred nursing his wounded cheek. But as ordered, all of the Predacons retreated. 

       Primal could see the ray's urge to follow after them and quickly intervened. "Maximals, let's go." He gestured for his team to follow but directed the order at the blue bot. 

 

       Depth Charge leaned against the base wall, awaiting his turn in the CR chamber. The rest of the team left him alone for the most part, clearly seeing how pissed off he was. Then again, he always appeared pissed off to them. Which they didn't help with, especially Rattrap who was the last one in the chamber, walking out to give the waiting mech a turn. "Whoa there temper tuna, down some coolant, wouldya?" 

       No verbal response was given, only a glare as they passed each other and Depth Charge entered the healing chamber. Relieved to finally be alone to think and recover. The fluid began to rise, coating his frame in healing nanites the higher it went. Repairs sped up, paint transfers and scuffs were removed, minor dents popped out. "Damn you, X." He muttered as the liquid reached his scalding pelvic plating, steaming once making contact.

* * *

 

 

       Rampage rested in the privacy of his own room, already healed up but back in his bad mood. He grumbled out his frustrations to himself as he sat on his recharge slab. Laying down, he felt both stupid and rejected. Having so little impulse control hadn't affected him before, but now he was left aroused and angry at himself.

       It had been a one-time thing, that was promised, but after getting such a small taste, he wanted more. The mech he begrudgingly called his 'leader', had ruined things. Though it was clear that his 'superior' didn't actually know of what had transpired, just wanted a mech in heat and to further control him. Regardless, something that he had actually enjoyed in his life, even as brief as it was, had been so easily overshadowed by something less pleasant. It made his craving to do it again all the more strong. 

       Dominating or being dominated, he couldn't bring himself to care at this point, but it would seem his nemesis would be less willing without the influence of his vulnerable state. Which meant things needed to be taken into his own servo for now, quite literally. 

       Popping open his panels, even despite the lingering soreness that was more mental than physical at this point, Rampage decided to try relieving the pressure himself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Depth Charge tries to deal with things the only way he knows how, but with prompting he can no longer deny himself and finally gives in. Weeks of 'facing and fighting Rampage leads to them finally getting caught.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta-read by the absolutely lovely EarlyMorningMassacre!

 

       Depth Charge played it over and over in his processor, the fateful day, the source of his anguish. The reason for his hate. The fall of his Colony, Omicron. With each passing thought, his anger grew, both at the memory but also at himself. Because as he lay on his berth, glaring up at the ceiling. Even with the recollection of the events that continuously haunted him, the burning in his panels would not quell. 

       He was in trouble if this continued, this sexual frustration. One mistake. Well, now he would consider it that. But one decision, wrong or right was still being debated in his processor, had caused this. Giving into his desire once had awoken an urge that had been ignored for multiple millennia due to his obsession and now it came back full force, impossible to dismiss now. Funny, the irony of the very reason for his lack of intimacy suddenly becoming the source of this returned want for interfacing, was just his type of luck. 

       As much as he enjoyed overpowering a mech who had made him feel powerless, especially in such a vulnerable state, it was not the justice he was looking for. A week ago it wouldn't have even been considered, but now here he was. Back in a mess with Rampage at the center. Which only meant one thing, since this infernal arousal would refuse to cease, Rampage needed to die. 

       Turning the tracker back on, it instantly honed onto the ex-experiment's signal. With that, Depth Charge slipped off of his recharge slab to begin his pursuit. He needed to end this confusing development one way or another, now. 

 

       Years of practice and an accurate scanner made it almost ridiculously easy to find his target, who was alone as per usual. Though, by the cross of the other mech's arms, perhaps he was being sought as well. Regardless, he kept his distance and shared a glare with his enemy. 

       "You've been avoiding me again, fins." Rampage huffed, as if it were a casual domestic conversation where the ray had come home late. 

       "What, did I hurt your feelings?"

       He rested a servo over his spark chamber, feigning dramatics. "Always." 

       "Good." Depth Charge raised his gun to a now very displeased X. 

       "You know, you're not very good with relationships." 

       "I haven't had any since you killed everyone I cared about, so I'm a bit rusty." He shrugged in response, blaster still trained on the larger bot. 

      Rampage began a steady stroll back and forth, uncaring of the weapon following his casual movements. "You have had many ample opportunities to kill me in return, yet you still haven't. During that 'heat cycle' of mine, I told you, you would have no better chance than then. Instead, you fragged me into the ground and now here we are, with your solution to your problem being revenge, as usual." He stopped, rolling his optics. 

       "And I believe I told you that would be a one-time thing. So, I'm open for a redo." 

       "Of which scenario?" He questioned, raising an optic ridge and suppressing a smirk as the ray took a telling pause. Effectively, the other mech was too flustered trying to spit out a proper answer that it gave him time to get in close enough before he could be stopped. Quickly, he grabbed the blaster and tossed it away, surprising the Maximal who was suddenly taken down, then pinned. 

       "Fragging pit, not again! Get off of me!" Depth Charge struggled below the heavy mass, reprimanding himself for letting his guard down. 

       "Why do you continue to deny it?" The Predacon hissed, keeping him pinned down. "I can feel it, I can feel  _ you _ . Your anger, your hatred, but beneath that is your  _ desire _ . Let it fester. Stop denying it, denying me, denying  _ yourself _ ." 

       Depth Charge wanted to argue that he wasn't denying a thing, he wanted to free his servo and sock the ex-experiment right in that stupid face. Which he would gladly do, but the problem was, despite how much he hated himself for it, it was true. Well, he wanted to deal with his indecisiveness one way or  _ another _ . Still, he wouldn't accept X being right so easily. "It's called impulse control, some mechs can actually handle their urges. Now, get. off. me." 

       "Get off of you or get you off?" 

       " _ Move _ ." He managed to shove the large mech off of him, but further caught the Pred off guard by successfully switching their positions, him now straddling the other frame pinned beneath him. "What do you say we work on that impulse control of yours?" 

       Rampage's shock died down but his spark still whirled in its chamber and he nodded enthusiastically.

* * *

 

  
  


       Three weeks later and fighting was still involved, but occasionally fragging had been added to the routine. Well, more than  _ occasionally _ . Regardless, they still had their respective duties on the opposing teams, even if neither were too fond of participating. Still, orders were complied with to keep suspicions on the down low as well as for other reasons. 

       Such as how Rampage was now stuck on patrol duty with Quickstrike, who was far too eager. Certainly not the crab's first choice in partner, but it was either him or electrocution from the spark box. Even still, it didn't make him any less annoying as he insisted on talking about some of his observations. "This way's all clear, damn! Ah really wanna slag me a Maximal!" He announced before returning to a one-sided conversation. "Now, as ah was sayin', have ya noticed how everyone's been actin' strange lately? Waspinator, you...Tarantulas..." 

       "For the last time," Rampage growled. "I  _ don't  _ care." 

       "Well, ah'm just sayin', y'know? Everyone's already a li'l strange, that's just bein' part of the Predacons. But Waspinator's been avoidin' everyone more than usual, Tarantulas has been starin' at me a lot. Ah'd think he has a new plan involvin' me, but, ah don't know, 's just weird. And  _ you-" _

_        "Shut up already."  _ He cut the much smaller mech off. 

       "Ah just wanna know if y'all are hidin' somethin'." 

       "Yeah, we're planning a surprise party." Stopping, he replied sarcastically, wanting this unwanted conversation over. 

       "Oh! Oh! Who for?!" 

       "Megatron, because we  _ all  _ love him  _ so _ much." His response earned him a suspicious squint from the fuzor, but he began walking again, uncaring if the other bot could keep up. 

       "Okay, now ah  _ know _ yer lyin' to me." Quickstrike chased after the crab, not fond of being made a fool of or left behind. Only for him to then bump into the large mech, who had stopped again and was now obstructing his view to whatever had caused the abrupt halt. Peering around the bigger frame, he spotted two Maximals, the ray and the rat. 

       The two larger mechs locked eyes and Rampage pushed his smaller teammate away, towards the short Maximal. "Go play." 

       Quickstrike wanted to be indignant over the treatment, but he was far too excited to finally get to fight to really care. Instead, he happily directed his focus to Rattrap, who ducked for cover as his attacker shot at him hollering and whooping out an enthusiastic 'yeehaw'. 

       Even if both their respective teammate's were distracted, Rampage and Depth Charge fought regardless. Tackling each other and rolling around as either of them tried to gain the upper hand. It ended in the latter mech on his front fighting out of a choke hold, one that would have been far more worrisome a month ago. However, it wasn't the most comfortable position and he attempted to turn them both over, but their wrestling was stopped from an explosion a good distance away. They both paused, looking at each other and then at the smoke. 

       "Should we check on them?"

       "They're fine." 

       Depth Charge shrugged and pushed the other mech off, before sitting up and brushing himself off. "That explosion was pretty far, they probably knocked each other out..." He trailed off, raising his optic ridge to see if the crab understood what he was getting at. 

       Rampage grinned. "Perfect." He replied, standing and offering a servo to help the Maximal up, who accepted. Though he didn't stay up for long, as he was quickly taken down by the ray. "Ouch." Now on his back, he muttered it as he had been more off guard than in pain. 

       "That's for the choke hold." Depth Charge responded, a smirk evident in his voice as he proudly sat atop his nemesis turned lover. Something that after weeks was still a bit difficult to think about. 

       "Fair enough," Rampage accepted it, partially resting his back against a tree but otherwise compliant with the other mech's positioning. The ray would top and he would get the pleasure he wanted, the usual routine, but he was confused by the lack of further touching. There was only staring, mostly at his face, which made him shift in discomfort. "What are you doing?" He inquired. 

       "Something different..." Depth Charge replied, tilting his helm as if trying to figure something out before seemingly deciding what to do. 

       His mask slid aside, greeting the shocked mech with a flawless golden faceplate and thick lips that instantly drew attention. Rampage reached out, tempted to touch and still struggling with impulse control, which earned him a glare. Regardless, he dismissed it in favour of running the pad of his opposable digit against the smooth but plush metal. "I never knew you had a mouth..." He murmured, drinking in the sight that he would have never imagined seeing. 

       "There is a lot we don't know about each other. It's hard to sit down and have a chat when we're constantly at each other's throat." Depth Charge replied, his upper lip quirking slightly in barely hidden contempt at the reminder. 

       The other mech hummed in agreement but was clearly now fixated on something else, unwelcomely grabbing his chin and pushing his lower lip down to look at his teeth. Each one was sharp and shark-like, an attractive contrast between the lush dermas hiding these dangerous beauties. "You are gorgeous, my sweet." Rampage continued to admire, even as the ray chuffed before his digit was bitten into by those razor dentae. 

       Undeterred as warm Energon trickled from the hardly painful abrasion, he returned to his previous ministrations; smudging his own lifeblood against those sensual lips, giving the illusion of hypnotism as his optics followed the slow movement. He didn't know how to kiss, but he desired to do it, bringing their faces closer as if in a trance. 

       Depth Charge was the one to make the first move, crashing their mouths together in an unthinkingly desperate motion. He wasn't gentle against the inexperienced bot, practically pinning the Pred with the very force of it. The crab only followed along, allowing him to lead as he tilted his helm slightly, working his lips against that strange vertical mouth. 

       Rampage didn't know where to put his servos, wanting to touch the mech atop him but wary of the repercussions of doing so. Still, he gradually placed his servos on the ray's waist, allowing the mech access to his intake as he did so. The blue mech's glossa slipped inside, the taste of his own Energon accompanied it. If it were possible to die from arousal, he'd have done it already. 

       Their glossae intermingled, sharing the taste of his Energon. Feeling adventurous, he gently ran his glossa over a dentae, uncaring as more of his lifeblood spilled from the action. It only caused him to moan, enjoying it far more than he should, but he didn't want it to end. Though, despite his wants, the other bot broke the kiss, but didn't stray far.

       "You disgust me." Depth Charge muttered, though the brightness of his optics gave away his own high charge. Despite the lack of malice in the comment, he didn't stay away for long, kissing the crab again. 

       Rampage pulled away this time, not one to pass up the chance for his own remark. "Clearly." He replied dryly, smirking as they quickly reconnected again, the best word to describe this makeout session being...hungry. And he loved it.

* * *

 

 

       Unbeknownst to them, their comrades had already come to and were unfortunate witnesses to the scene. Both equally disturbed and too horrified to stop it or return to fighting each other. Quickstrike was unable to tear his optics away, while Rattrap awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, though the latter was not one to let the silence linger. "So, uh, ya gonna help yer buddy or should we just leave?" However, he didn't get a response, causing him to sigh and cover the other mech's optics in an attempt to break the shock. Still nothing, and a groan from one of the  _ occupied  _ mechs really wasn't something he needed to hear. With a shrug and a huff he decided to try to snap the fuzor out of it one more time, he would leave regardless of whether it worked or not. "Welllll, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Grabbing the sides of the other mech's face, he smooched the stunned bot despite the lack of a mouth.

       "What in tarna-!" Quickstrike quickly recovered, pushing the rat away and wiping at his faceplate. "Get offa me you damn, dirty, varmit!" 

       "Ey, it was a diffuse joke. Get it? Cause I'm the bomb guy?" Rattrap joked, watching as the disgruntled fuzor took one more disgusted look at the scene a few meters away then glared at him and walked away. "Yeah, yeah, that was pretty  _ cheesy _ , but what can I say? I'm a rat." Chuckling at his own joke, he shook his helm before briefly looking back at the pair.

        He had a bit more concern for his teammate but seeing that panels were now open, he took that as his cue to leave. Regardless of not being easily embarrassed, that was not something he wanted to witness. 

       However, at the same time, a morbid curiosity had him rooted to the spot. Later he could blame it on concern, or blackmail, or some other reason. Maybe it was truly a mix of all of that, but regardless of reasoning, he stayed. He didn't watch too thoroughly, only quick glances between digits that definitely left no room for doubt about what was going on. 

       As much as he enjoyed bugging the ray about the strange sort of heated charge present in each of the currently coupling pair's battles, he hadn't really thought much into it. The fighting between those two reminded him of his own with someone he had felt a similar love/hate relationship with. It had stemmed from genuine hate into disgruntled interest and eventually into something more. That was over now though, and here he was partially watching his teammate frag one of the most hated mechs on either team. And he was actually thinking about it in detail. Like, how he had never considered it before, but the blue bot topping in that relationship made more sense than it should've. He hadn't thought of X to be the submissive type, not that he had previously thought about that at all, but it was more likely the crab just liked getting whatever was wanted. Aka, his teammate. Now he was analyzing this too much. What had his life come to?

       Having had enough of this, he shook his helm before finally promptly taking his leave. The other Maximal could take care of himself.

* * *

 

 

       Unable to find his teammate, Depth Charge headed back to base, assuming the rat had done the same. Also likely in worse condition than himself, he avoided the CR chamber and instead headed to his room to fix a few  _ conspicuous  _ paint transfers. The rest would stay or else raise suspicion. 

       Though, when he arrived he was surprised to find the shortest Maximal waiting for him, leaning against his room's door. "Hey, pal. I wanted to talk to ya." Rattrap stood up, speaking casually but the cross of his arms tipped the other mech off to the kind of talk it would be. 

       "Go away," Depth Charge punched in his code, avoiding the shorter bot as he entered his room, but he was followed, the mech ignoring him. "Get out."

       "Oh, sure, I'll just yell at you through the door. Let the whole base hear what I gotta say, if you'd prefer that." 

       Sighing, he closed the door before turning back to the rat. "Fine. What do you want?" 

       "I just wanted ta make sure yer okay. Make sure Rampage didn't get on ya too much, or in ya. Wait, sorry, I believe it was you who were  _ in _ him." 

       Glaring, he matched the other Maximal's stance, crossing his arms as well. "I have no idea what you're talking about." 

       "I think you know  _ exactly  _ what I'm talking about,  _ fish lips _ ." Rattrap rubbed at his digits, still seeming casual in this 'interrogation' as he examined them. 

       Slag. "How much did you see?"

       "Waayyy too much! I'm gonna be purgin' my memory banks for  _ eons _ ." Covering his optics, he sat on the ray's berth. 

       "So what are you going to do about it? Run to Primal?" 

       "That's up ta you," He shrugged, before laying down. "Listen, I know a thing or two about dating a Pred. Ex, X, or otherwise. Though, I'm not too sure about yers. He doesn't have too many good qualities and he sure doesn't hate his team because of lack of honor. I don't trust the guy, and I don't like you very much. Regardless, I may be a rat, but I'm not a  _ rat _ . I'll trust yer judgment, just watch yerself and don't get us all slagged." Sitting back up, he hopped off the high recharge slab before beginning to leave. "Also, don't let me see that again. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to re-evaluate my life." 

       Depth Charge watched the mech go with an optic ridge raised. "Why did you watch then?!" He called after the retreating rat. 

       "Concern?!" Rattrap called back, before leaving the ray alone, now with some things to think about, as well as a mild ally. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I'll quit skimping out on the smut, but I'm not motivated enough for super long chapters, though more comments = more motivation = more content. Please let me know what you want to see more of or less of, cause I may potentially make this longer. (I really don't like how much time skipping I'm doing.)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rampage just can't get a break, running into a rough patch with his lover, angering his boss, and getting some confusing news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaread by the lovely EarlyMorningMassacre!

  
  


       Sighing, Depth Charge tried to get himself unstuck once again but was just as unsuccessful as the other multiple attempts he'd made. After being shot down by a mysterious beam of energy and then abandoned by his ally, he was now left out in the open with no defense. With low energy and a minimal amount of movement, he was trapped like a fish in a net. What else could this day possibly throw at him?

       "My, you seem to be in quite the predicament." Whipping his helm around, he internally groaned. Of course. 

       "Ugh, what do you want, X?" He griped, keeping his optics locked on the mech looming over him. 

       "I was seeking something to quell my boredom. It seems I've found what I'm looking for." Rampage circled the trapped bot, ignoring the suspicious glare directed at him, his own optics roaming the ray. 

       "...What do you have in mind?" Depth Charge questioned, hesitant as the crab stopped in front of him, wandering servos making themselves comfortable on his torso. 

       "Hm, a little something...different." Rampage replied, trailing off as his servos touched over the other mech's thighs and hips. 

       Still unable to freely move, the Maximal shifted as much as possible, protecting his modesty plate. "Don't you dare."

       "Not that," Rampage tisked and shook his helm, "I enjoy our time together too much to ruin it now." Instead, he began tracing a digit along the trapped bot's cod-piece, there was no objection this time, even if discomfort still showed over being so vulnerable. 

       "I can't move or-...reciprocate much." Something not easily admitted in the presence of a previous(?) enemy.

       "That won't be a problem, I suppose I can do most of the work myself." He responded, pleased when the covering retracted under his touch. Intentional or not, the ray wasn't fighting him. Curious and almost boring, if it wasn't for the fact the ease was not out of comfort but stimulation and lack of energy. 

       "More like all of it." The blue bot muttered, seemingly indifferent if it weren't for the telling reactions from such an exhausted frame. 

       "If you insist." He quipped right back, climbing atop the immobile frame and bestriding the ray. "I don't see you complaining of the circumstances."

       "Would I even have a choice if I did?" Depth Charge asked, using some of his mobility to raise his helm and look to the mech above him. He was surprised to find the crab had ceased touching him, now looking down at him with both surprise, seriousness, and the merest hint of concern. 

       "Yes. I'm many things, but I'm not  _ that _ ." 

       He snorted in response, "Could've fooled me." His reply earned him a glare. 

       "...Well, if that's how you feel," Rampage almost sounded offended, even as he leaned menacingly closer. "I could fit the part if that is what you would prefer. I could rip off your battle mask, ravage your mouth with my own as much as I please, hm?" His words were punctuated with action as he caressed said protective metal with a far too gentle servo when paired with the threat. "Crush your spike in my grip or simply rip it off and use it myself," The same servo traced downwards, taking its time down to the other mech's pelvis which responded to the stimulation despite the growing unease in the ray. "And  _ when _ I get bored of that, I could tear off your panels and there would be nothing you could do about it." He paused in both his ministrations and speaking, letting the words sink in as the blue mech glared, but those crimson optics couldn't hide the discomfort. "But, I'm not  _ that _ ." He sat up, finally out of the other bot's personal space. 

       Depth Charge couldn't help questioning if he'd gotten too comfortable to let this happen, this situation. He'd had his guard up, had been in control, now he was without any of that control and completely vulnerable. This perspective kept his vocalizer from biting out any more comments, leaving him to see what X would decide to do. 

       "Shall we proceed then?" Rampage questioned. Regardless of what the Maximal may think, he could back off and they could stop. Instead, returning to trying to kill each other if the mech didn't want to figure it out and enjoy their little trysts without guilt. At least he wanted to believe he could, but it was becoming apparent that they were quickly declining back to square one. Right back where they started, however, this time he was the one in control, with a decision to make. Follow through in seeking temporary pleasure, like he always did? Or continue the different, and admittedly failed, attempts to gain something longer lasting? Though, the lack of reply from the other mech, who was only giving him a  _ look _ , an infuriating one, had him teetering in favour of his old way; and his optics narrowed in response. "Fine. If I must be a crazed sexual deviant to get what I want, so be it." He wasn't a good mech, he had some guilt and second thoughts every once in a while, but there was no use being nice. He didn't get much of what he wanted in life, and he wouldn't get everything he wanted out of this, but he was damn ready to get something. Despite his own, admittedly very small, set of morals. 

       Depth Charge's optics widened, clearly he hadn't had a full grasp of the boundaries of this upper hand he had supposedly had. Any remaining sense of control was quickly crumbling and the full weight of the helplessness from the situation came crashing down. "What are you doing?" He managed out, meaning it as a demand, but the hard tone faltered as he watched the crab move above him. Words were all he had in this situation, not that he was ever good with them, and already the tactic was failing him. Hopefully, he could salvage it. 

       "What I want." The Predacon replied to his question. 

       Unfortunately, or fortunately given the situation, Depth Charge had gotten too good at reading his nemesis and found his opening. " _ This _ isn't what you want," He said without thinking,  _ almost _ desperate, but it caught the other mech's attention. However, his own words suddenly hit him with a wave of understanding. He could dwell on how that epiphany made him feel later because he had to focus on bringing this situation back in control with his weakest aspect. "You want me...You want my consent and you want  _ me _ to want  _ you _ ." Holy pit, let him be right. 

       "Cute observation, fins, took you long enough to realize it," Rampage seemed notably less on edge, maybe even a little relieved for the change in tone. "It's not too much to ask for, if I can't have my freedom, I can at least find some pleasure in my captivity." 

       Freedom and some twisted sense of companionship, that really wasn't much to ask for, but "Why me?" Of all mechs, why the most complicated one? No amount of consent or avoidance would patch up the past. 

       "I don't know and I don't care," Rampage said, before nodding to the ray's still barred equipment, "but I'm extending this offer a final time today. Should I take care of that or do you want me to leave and we end this tryst here?" 

       Sighing, Depth Charge relented. "Fine, yes, just hurry up and frag me already." It had briefly slipped his mind, but Rattrap had abandoned him at the beginning of this mission; there was no doubt the rat would be back at some point. He definitely wouldn't be happy to witness the two aquatic mechs going at it  _ again _ . 

       "Eager are we?" Rampage asked, sitting back, still straddling the Maximal. 

       "You wish," Depth Charge grunted out, "You're just getting heavy." The crab only chuckled in response, opting to try to get some of the mood back with his previous ministrations. "I said hurry up, I don't want to get caught." 

       "So demanding." Rampage playfully chastised, but abandoned the foreplay for the main event. "Is this more your speed?" He questioned as he opened his modesty plate and sunk down onto the other mech's spike in one go. Regardless of the bravado, he had to pause, his vents hitching over the onslaught of sensation. 

       "Don't hurt yourself," Quipped the ray. 

       "Ah, shut up." He responded, moving again once he had regained himself. 

       Depth Charge watched the other mech readjust, clearly having no experience with the new position. "We don't have all day by the way, just thought you should know." 

       The larger bot glared at him, before slamming down in one quick motion, wrangling a grunt out of his vocalizer. "Better?" 

       Spitting out static he managed a weak, "Yeah." before he was being descended upon again, a harder pace being set. The irregular but rough motions kept his jibes quiet, replacing them with grunts and groans.

       Satisfied, Rampage allowed himself a bit more experimentation, coming back down at different angles, finding leaning back helpful. Rolling his hips sent static up his back strut, causing him to gasp out.

       "Do that again." 

       He'd had no intention of stopping, he could've out of spite, but they were in a rush after all. There was no sense of sensuality, only the seeking of pleasure, and the quickest way to find it. Given his lack of stamina, it didn't take long to reach. 

       Depth Charge wasn't long behind, the overload draining the energy his damaged systems had managed to build up. He couldn't hold up himself or the mech atop him for much longer. "Get off, you're getting heavy." 

       Rampage growled, pushing down with more of his weight before slowly getting up. Some of his own systems still rebooting as he did so. Making his way to a nearby river, he cleaned himself without a word. 

* * *

 

     "RAMPAGE!" Megatron bellowed, his voice echoing as he stomped throughout the entire base like a pissed off two-year-old. "RAMPA-uh, oh, there you are." 

       "What do you want?" Rampage snapped, having finally gotten back to base after his little encounter. 

       "In case you haven't noticed, we had a mission today and I expected  _ everyone _ to be there." Megatron paused to wipe some soot off of his shoulder, further emphasizing the failure of that mission, and pointedly but silently laying the blame on the absence. "So, what I want is to know,  _ where were you _ ?" He demanded, jamming a digit at his subordinate's chest. 

       "Out." The crab replied, glaring and brushing away the offending digit.

       "I am your leader! You will do what I say when I say and I've had just about enough of your rebellious attitude!" Taking the spark box out of his secret compartment, he didn't hesitate in squeezing it as hard as he could, smirking as he watched the behemoth before him crumble in a fit of rage and agony. 

       Rampage howled in pain, futilely tearing at his own chassis in the vain hope to reach his spark chamber and end the suffering. The few seconds, felt like a suffocating century, even when Megatron finally released his tight grip. However, the agonizing energy didn't end with the squeezing as it usually did, instead ricocheting and amplifying. It was much more painful the second time, despite the fact the very confused other mech wasn't crushing the box anymore. The electricity was jumping between two sources, the other unknown as it gradually began to finally dissipate, with the pain finally stopping. Regardless, Rampage threw up. 

       Megatron crinkled up his olfactory sensor in distaste. "Eugh, disgusting. Clean that up after you've finished rethinking your choices." He stepped over the curled up frame, satisfied with the punishment despite the unintended intensity. He was looking forward to some time in the CR tub with his rubber duck. 

       Rampage spit curses and promises of death as he watched his 'leader' leave. Still, once he managed to get up, he begrudgingly did as told, even with the burning ache in his spark and tanks. Anger and confusion, which only made him angrier, were his motivation for getting the job done quickly. He had never experienced that before and wanted some answers from somewhere. Fortunately, the only mech who could get him those answers was absolutely terrified of him, which always worked in his favour. So, he promptly finished what he'd been doing to appease the Predacon leader, as he didn't wish for an encore so soon before he could get answers, then began his search. 

 

       His spark still hurt and his tanks roiled unpleasantly, encouraging him to make haste to find the mech he was looking for. The spider, though unpleasant, would be his best bet for medical matters. The only difficulty in locating the other Predacon though was due to the fact that there were so many secret labs to hide out in. It was frustrating and took far more of his time than he would have liked to give, but eventually, he found the right one.

       When he entered the correct one he could see Tarantulas was distracted with his work, but not enough to be oblivious to a presence. Quickly, he whipped around, before shrieking once he spotted his unexpected visitor, and just as promptly scrambled back. With the mad haste to get to cover, he knocked all of his projects off of his work table as he climbed over it before ducking down. 

       "Graceful." Rampage chuckled, pleased with the blatant show of fear, something he hadn't received in far too long. 

       "What do you want?!" Tarantulas hissed from his hiding place. 

       The much larger mech casually approached, unimpeded by such feeble cover if there was actually some intent to kill the scientist. "I need a favour." The crab said, leaning against the table.

       Tarantulas peaked up at the menacing form, "A...favour?" despite the unease he glared up at the mech. "What kind of _ favour _ ?" He questioned, his mandibles rubbing together both out of curiosity and nervousness. 

       "A medical one," The former-experiment internally cringed at the thought of it, but looked around regardless. "And I see you have the tools for it." 

       "Medical? I'm a  _ scientist _ , not a doctor." 

       Picking up a broken test tube, it was idly studied. "You do have the best credentials for medical matters compared to the other members of our...team." 

       Tarantulas paused, taking that to his ego as he weighed the pros and cons, considering the unlikelihood of his limbs remaining attached if he refused. "Fine," He gestured to a currently makeshift medical slab, keeping a good distance as the other mech took the hint and laid down. "What seems to be the problem?" 

       "My tanks." Rampage indicated the area. 

       "Hmm." Tarantulas pulled out a scanner, tweaking it a bit, he couldn't find any concerning anomalies. "Other than a lack of Energon and some slight irritation that shows signs of recent purging, you're fine." Sadly. He'd rejoice at the thought of being the bearer of bad news, telling at least one of his enemies that they had a terminal illness, but alas today was not the day for that. 

       If the problem wasn't in Rampage's tanks, then it was a problem in his spark. Which gave said organ a surge of panic at the thought. With everything that had been done to it, it shouldn't be surprising there could be some problems, but he was supposed to be immortal. Was his spark finally breaking down under the strain? Was he dying? That gave him mixed feelings of fear and elation. "...It must be my spark." He muttered, a hint of amazement and bewilderment coloured his tone. Discomfort resurfaced at the thought of the spider studying his very soul, one that had been tarnished by many scientists, but he had to know if he was finally dying. 

       Tarantulas huffed, somehow conveying an eye roll with a visor as he briefly flicked the scanner over the large mech's chassis. What was so hard to understand, he's not a medic!

       An anomaly was detected and the scanner beeped, alerting both mechs and breaking the scientist out of his uncaring demeanor which was quickly replaced with intrigue. "Interesting..." He hummed as he scrolled through the reading. 

       "What is it?" Rampage snapped, anxious and impatient. 

       The spider continued to leer at the screen, "I can't get a clear reading through your thick chest plate, but there is something there..." 

       Sneering, he gradually retracted the plating to expose his spark chamber. "Don't try anything funny, spider." 

       No comment was given as Tarantulas was far more interested in what he was looking at. Despite knowing full well what it was, he checked with the scanner as well, which confirmed. "Well...congratulations. You're carrying." He was surprised, to say the least, but weirder things had happened on this planet. 

       The crab only stared at him blankly. "...Carrying? A parasite? A virus?  _ Half of Cybertron _ ? Speak sense, spider!" 

       He returned the look, his visor blinking slowly and deliberately as his optic ridges furrowed. Turning the scanner so the other mech could see what was on the screen, he hoped that would clear things up, but it only seemed to enrage the carrying Predacon. 

       "My spark! It has been split again!" Rampage shouted, abruptly sitting up, much to the spider's panic. Megatron must have split it again! Were two halves not enough? 

       "What?! No! NO!" Tarantulas had no idea what he had gotten himself into. With his head in his servo, he shook his helm and indicated for the other Predacon to lay back down before beginning to explain. "It's a sparkling! You're carrying a sparkling! Although unusual, it's not impossible." However, the large mech still seemed confused, a little pissed off as well, so he decided to elaborate. "When your spark made contact with another mech's, during or post-interface, the energy created another spark. There is a small bot growing inside of you, new life." Explaining how procreation works to the mech you fear the most, was certainly not on his to-do list. What a surreal day. 

       Even with the further elaborated but simplified answer, Rampage didn't understand. "No one's spark has come into contact with my own."

       Tarantulas paused, confused as well and unsure of what to do with that information. "...If you haven't bonded or merged with someone else...Perhaps a recent heat cycle?" He questioned, not actually interested in this mech's sex life, but curious about the overall situation. 

       "...That can cause my body to 'carry'?" 

       "Yes, although, I can't help wondering who the unfortunate sire is." The new term earned him a look, prompting him to explain more. "The mech who interfaced with you, the second creator of this new spark." 

       Rampage sat up, quickly closing his chest plate and getting off the slab, his brisk panic startled the spider. He hid the shock behind false acrimony, as he now had a concern and clearly his past questions humoured the scientist, dissuading him from asking this one but he had to know, regardless of whether or not it would paint him a fool. "And if there were multiple partners? How do I know the sire?" The way he loomed certainly turned the other bot sheepish, however, amusement was still found in this further unveiling of the circumstances. Damn his reputation. He had to focus on upholding it  _ and _ getting the answers to something he had never been educated on, without looking like a complete imbecile. Maybe if he had had even the  _ tiniest _ sliver of knowledge on this, he wouldn't be in this mess. 

       Thankfully, Tarantulas regained himself enough to answer without bursting out laughing and angering the more powerful Predacon further. "I'm afraid I don't have the equipment for that, we won't know until it emerges." 

       Rampage huffed a sigh of frustration, barely stopping himself from crushing the objects closest to him. "Thank you for your time." He gritted out because what else was he supposed to say? At this point he wasn't even sure what he didn't know, now he had to figure things out with the limited information he had gotten. 

       "By the way, now  _ I _ need a favour from  _ you, _ " Tarantulas spoke, taking a few steps back in case all that built up hostile energy was directed at him. "For keeping your secret a secret, of course." An action he was glad he took as he received a death glare for his audacity, but the beast did not lash out. 

       "And what kind of  _ favour _ would that be?" 

       The spider smirked. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyy, I hope the end doesn't feel like it came out of left field cause it was planned, I just suck at taking things gradual.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rampage needs to break the news to Depth Charge, who has a mixed but surprising reaction to the news. Though Rampage keeps the sire dilemma to himself, finding this to be a positive turning point in their relationship. Rattrap gets all the juicy details and accidentally mentions Transmutate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta-read by the lovely EarlyMorningMassacre!

 

   Monitor duty with a love-struck fool _ sucked _ , big time. ' _ Oh, my beloved  _ ' this and that and a bunch of other grossly tender comments that made Depth Charge squeamish and wish he could just end his own suffering now. Optimus was taking a nap, Rhinox was busy trying to fix some obsolete machinery, and everyone else was patrolling different sectors while he was stuck with Silverbolt who was only paying attention to the monitor with the spider. 

       Depth Charge almost wished he was dealing with Rampage, which would surprisingly be a better alternative to dealing with this. At least they would fight or frag, it wasn't complicated when they didn't try to talk things out and they certainly didn't give each other  _ goo-goo eyes _ . Primus help him if he was ever out of his mind enough to wear that dumb expression, he could only cringe at the thought. Perhaps a few hundred years ago the thought of finding someone he would be that infatuated with would send his spark fluttering but now it only made him squirm. "Would you stop that?" He snapped, breaking the fuzor out of the daze. "We have work to do." 

       "You are right, but I have yet to hear a distress call. Though if I do, I will quickly rush in to help, I will not shirk my duty! Especially if it involves my beloved!" 

       "For the love of-" Sighing heavily, he turned his chair away from the other mech, refusing to engage in any further conversation. Trying to take a nap himself didn't sound like a bad idea, so long as the other mech stayed quiet for a while. Offlining his optics, he prepared to attempt it, before his plan was thwarted by a distress call. 

       : Ey, anyone listening, I need Depth Charge, asap! :

       : Rattrap? Silverbolt here, what seems to be the problem? :

       : Is fish-face with you? I need him  _ pronto _ . :

       : Do you need backup? I can assist as well! :

       : This involves, uh...Water, so, no can do bird-dog. :

       : Are you sur-:

       : JUST SEND 'IM OVER ALREADY! :

       "Okay, okay, sheesh, sounds like he needs you." Silverbolt muttered, shaking his head.

       "So I heard." Depth Charge replied, already out of his seat and ready to leave. 

* * *

  
  


       Locating Rattrap was easy, but the situation he had gotten himself into was the surprising thing. Hanging from his own tail, he was dangling in the grip of Rampage, who wasn't doing anything besides making sure the rat couldn't escape. 

       "Oh thank Primus, yer here!" Rattrap exclaimed as his fellow Maximal transformed. "Can I go now?" He asked the Predacon keeping him hostage. 

       "Fine," The crab muttered, having gotten what he wanted, he carelessly let the rodent drop. 

       "I do  _ not  _ need to witness whatever goes down here, he really wants you, fishface. Do you need me to call back up?" Rattrap asked. 

       "No." 

       "Alright, suit yourself!" He replied before scurrying off. 

       The remaining Maximal and Predacon watched him leave, before the former turned back to the latter. "So, what's so important you needed to attack my teammate to get me here?" 

       Rampage didn't answer right away, watching to make sure the rat really was gone. Once sure, he cut right to the chase. "I'm carrying." 

       Depth Charge practically choked. "You're what?" 

       "Carrying, a...uh...'sparkling'. It's a-"

       " _ How?! _ "

       "So, you know what that is?"

       "Of course I do, I'm not a fragging  _ moron _ ," He exclaimed, receiving a glare from the crab despite the unintentional dig at the mech's intelligence. "Are you  _ sure _ ?" 

       "Yes, I'm sure!" Rampage snapped, sitting down heavily on a fallen log. 

       Depth Charge clutched his helm and sat on the stump beside it, "Frag me..." he uttered, in near disbelief. 

       "That's what caused this." The carrying mech supplied helpfully. 

       "Frag you!"

       "That helped as well."

       He huffed in frustration, because of _fragging course_ _this_ would happen to him! The absolute _irony_ of it, this is what he was planning to start _after_ he'd killed X! Find someone to settle down with, maybe have some sparklings, but here he was! His quarry still kicking and now the closest he had to a romantic partner and carrying his sparkling, _is X_. Why didn't Primus just come down and beat the scrap out of him right now? 

       "What are we going to do with it? We can't raise a sparkling in the middle of a war."

       Rampage stared at the ray with wide optics, surprise written all over his faceplate. "We?" He mumbled, shocked. 

       "There is no way in the pit I'm leaving a sparkling alone with you." Depth Charge quickly affirmed, before there could be any fuzzy feelings forming, he didn't say that out of sentimentality...Did he? He did want a sparkling of his own,  _ one day _ , and even if the carrier wasn't ideal, he could make it work....Maybe. "When did you find out?"

       "Today."

       "Who else knows?"

       "Tarantulas" 

       "Which one is that again?"

       "...The tarantula."

       "Anyone else?"

       "No."

       "Good," Depth Charge sighed, before standing up. "Unless you have any more news, I need to go." Without waiting for a response, he promptly left. 

Rampage didn’t object.

* * *

 

       The fly back to the Maximal base was thoughtless, practically autopilot as Depth Charge found himself heading towards his room before he even realized where he was. Everything felt so surreal, so strange, he knew why but he wanted to be in the privacy of his own room before really dwelling on the new beast he had to face. Parenthood. 

       Entering his quarters, his relief was short lived as he spotted Rattrap sitting on the berth and seemingly waiting. He perked up upon seeing the other mech. 

       "Ey, you're back!" He exclaimed, jumping off of the high bed. 

       "What are you doing here?" The ray questioned, not impressed with the intrusion regardless of their acquaintanceship. 

       "Hello to you too, puffa-fish," He closed the door behind the owner of the room before crossing his arms. "Well, seein' as my life was put into danger cuza’ your mechfriend, I'm a bit curious about the whole situation." 

       "I don't want to talk about it." Depth Charge muttered, sitting on his berth. 

       "What, you two break up or something?" The rat questioned, earning himself a glower. "Aw, sheesh, you did didn't 'cha? I thought he looked mighty pissed, thought you two might be fighting or something-"

       "That's not it." 

       "Then what happened? Gimme the big cheese, I gotta know!" Rattrap threw his servos up, before jumping onto the recharge slab as well to sit beside the larger bot. "You two fightin'? I dated a Pred and we used ta argue  _ all  _ the time."

       Depth Charge sighed before deciding to just come out with it, he actually wouldn't mind someone to talk to. "He's carrying." 

       The smaller Maximal stared at him, seemingly trying to figure out if he was joking or not, "Heh, sorry, I think I misheard ya." 

       "He's carrying a sparkling, I sparked him up."

       "No, yeah, I know what it is I'm not a moron, but how?!" Rattrap practically yelled out of his own shock. "You two didn't sparkbond didya? I didn't think you were that close!"

       "No, we didn't sparkbond! Ew!" The ray shivered at the thought. "We interfaced  _ once _ , on his heat cycle,  _ only _ once!" 

       "Are ya sure?! Or did you two do it multiple times in the one interface? Never mind, don't tell me, I don't wanna know!" He covered his audio receptors and cringed, before remembering who he was. "Okay, actually I do wanna know, but don't give me too much detail, I don't wanna know that much!" 

       "Why are you yelling?"

       "It's some very unexpected news and you were yellin' too!" He exclaimed. "Now quit avoidin' the question!"

       "Once, it was just once. I was too ashamed after, so I left." Depth Charge explained, covering his faceplate as he shook his helm. 

       "I guess once was enough, thank Primus I don't got your luck or I'd have started a whole new generation." The short mech joked, nudging him. "But, anyway, anyway, it might not be so bad. You stop being Mr. Grumpy-gills and you'll probably raise a pretty decent, badass kid." 

       "Thanks." He sighed in mild relief, at least somewhat comforted. 

       Rattrap seemed to think more, shrugging to himself. "Actually, Rampage might not be so bad a parent either. He really seemed to have a soft spot for that weird protoform a while back..." 

       "What?" 

       "Yeah, I can't remember its name, real freakazoid. I heard he was absolutely devastated when it was destroyed, honestly, you'd have to ask 'Bolt. He was there when it happened, the two were fighting over being its friend. Rampage never told you 'bout it?" 

       "No he didn't." Depth Charge stood, a new mission in mind. "But I think I will go talk to Silverbolt."

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next three chapters are gonna be big ones!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rampage finds an almost companionship with Tarantulas who is keeping up with the sparkling's progress. Every party proceeds to have a very enlightening day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the super long wait! I've been meaning to get this out, but tis a pretty long chapter and I am a slow writer!! Thank you for all the comments motivating me to continue chipping away at it! I am determined to get this fics, and two others finished before the end of the year, so wish me luck!
> 
> As you should know, WARNINGS for this chapter, you know those tags hanging out up top? They apply to this chapter. I didn't go into too deep of detail, cause it was a bit too much for me, but at the very end we got Rampage's past. It's messed up, like, really messed up. I don't want to trigger anyone so just a warning, there are some heavy topics mentioned. Be warned and stay safe! Thank you

        "A little higher, higher, you're taller than me, higher!" Tarantulas demanded, pointing to a top shelf as he leaned on the tips of his toes. 

        "This is heavy!" His current lackey grunted out. 

        " _And_ delicate! Careful!" Continuing to chastise, he only returned to his own work once his equipment was safely put away. "Unfortunately due to your circumstances I have to trade out most of my own tools to make room for things that will better suit your care." 

        "Yet you have the carrying mech doing all the lifting." Rampage muttered, brushing himself off. 

        "You're not far enough along for there to be any issues with it, besides, I must use you for as long as possible, per our agreement." The spider replied, directing him to lay down. "Now, for your check up."

        He complied, but not without a tsk. "Just 'manual labour', I haven't known you for long but I'm not stupid enough to believe that is all you want."

        "Me? Having an ulterior motive? Never." Tarantulas snickered, not comforting in the least. "What is it that you believe I truly desire?" He inquired, genuinely curious as he tapped the plating over the other mech's spark chamber, indicating a request for it to be opened. 

        The ex-experiment complied, ignoring the trepidation he always felt from the act. This was for the sparkling. "You want my sparkling." 

        "You're a clever one...Surprising really," He commented, noting the statement as not completely true but also not wrong. "But I have no plans to take your child away from you-"

        "-I'd sooner rend you limb by limb." 

        "No doubt, however, you yourself are an interesting specimen, I'd like to study it...Oh..." His trail off caused visual alarm in the carrying mech. "This is an...interesting development." 

        "What? What is? Tell me _spider_!" Rampage demanded, his alarm growing as he grabbed the scientist by the collar of his armour. 

        "Calm down! Calm down!" Tarantulas tried to push the much larger bot off. "I don't think it's bad but I can't be certain if you don't let me work!" Finally released, he watched the mech with hesitation, waiting for his unruly patient and his own spark to calm. Pulling out his scanner, he let it hover over the open chamber. "Lay back." He instructed, ignoring the look he received over the impolite tone. "This won't hurt you, but it may be _uncomfortable_." Thank Primus for immortal sparks, he supposed. 

        Before the other Predacon could ask what he was going to do, he metaphorically put his servo into the belly of the beast. Touching the mech's spark, the energy followed his digits as he moved it over a fraction. The ex-experiment looked ready to tear his arm off without a second thought if he didn't provide an explanation immediately. "There is another spark orbiting your own, a second sparkling." He supplied, before quickly removing his servo while he still had it attached. "It's in a strange spot, I can't tell if it's new or if the position made it invisible to the scanner."

        "How is that possible?" The carrying mech questioned. 

        "Two sires, two sparks, biology terminology, I don't _know_! I'm still not a doctor, I am a _scientist_!" He exclaimed, throwing his servos up in exasperation. " _Besides_ , your entire spark is fragged to the pit and back, even if my knowledge wasn't limited, your case is different! That's what interested me in the first place." 

         "And you can't tell me who the sire of this new spark is..."

        "I could make an estimated guess, but, I don't know who the sires could be." As enlightening as it would be to ask, he wasn't sure he wanted to delve into that territory just yet, especially with the other mech still on edge from his previous invasive stunt. It was thrilling knowing such a dangerous beast was so vulnerable right now, but he still had to choose his steps wisely. "However, if one turns out to be sired by the bot you clearly don't want to be the sire, I will gladly take it off your servos." He took a step back once the proposition had been uttered, proud of himself.

        A sadistic mech like Rampage would no doubt jump at the chance to get the unwanted sparkling dealt with. It would likely have a better fate with the scientist who would not judge based on sire, simply _carrier_. 

        "No." Was all he answered. He would never subject a sparkling to what he had gone through, regardless of sire. Even then, there was the possibility of both sparks being sired by Megatron, which meant the scientist would have a high chance of getting one or both of the sparklings. 

        "No? Why would you care what happens to it?" Tarantulas inquired, but the steely glare he got in return caused him to pause. "What do you think I would _do_ to it?"

        "Spark experimentation no doubt, to see if it carries any of my traits." 

        Clever, clever, regardless of the lack of education, the crab was not a complete moron. Although the way it was said made it sound far more...malicious than it would be... "I may be a little sadistic myself, but I have _standards_." Sparklings were something only the worst of the worst would hurt. He was curious, sure, a little messed up too, definitely, but he wasn't _that bad_. "I actually enjoy sparklings, hoped to have a few of my own someday if I wasn't so repulsive to everyone," Why was he talking about this? "It wouldn't be anything intrusive, more observational." 

        "And if it doesn't carry my traits? Then what?" Rampage demanded, however he was uninterested in a response, "I have no reason to trust you, the answer is still no." 

        Tarantulas couldn't help feeling he'd deeply misread the other Predacon's character. Certainly still dangerous, more than likely still bloodthirsty, but not sparkless. Which meant he was going to lose this battle; pity, but there were other ways to get what he wanted and already he was thinking of other ideas.

        "You ripped me limb from limb when we first met, I don't hold much trust for you either." He began to put his tools away. "You can leave now, you're free from manual labour. I'll keep your secret." 

        Rampage shut his chest plate and got off the makeshift medical berth. He watched the spider walk to the other side of the room and try to reach a shelf just a little too high. He couldn't help shaking his helm, what was the point in using those if they were out of reach? Regardless, he walked over and grabbed the tool, setting it on the shelf. The smaller mech seemed shocked, clearly having expected for him to leave right away, but neither commented on it. All he did was sigh before speaking. "I want Depth Charge to be the sire..." Leaving it at that, he walked out of the lab and headed back to base. 

        The spider watched him leave, surprised to say the least. Depth Charge? Tarantulas didn't know much about the mech, but from what he'd heard and seen, the two hated each other. Then again, there weren't many mechs to choose from on this planet. Which was disappointing and made his failure with the she-spider sting a little, even if she absolutely repulsed him now.

        However, he made his way over to his console regardless, checking when his next heat cycle would be. The last thing he needed was for it to sneak up on him. The reminder of his suppressed desire could not have had better timing. It would seem his own cycle was soon and he had a little time to find someone at least tolerable, but again, pickings were limited. Looking for a partner soon would be ideal, before he could get himself into a similar situation to his current 'patient'. Hm. 

* * *

 

        Depth Charge really didn't know much about the other Maximals he was practically forced to share a base with. This lack of knowledge wasn't as apparent until now, when he needed something. Regardless of having searched the base on a few occasions, he didn't actually know where anyone else stayed, he had just chosen a room as far away from the others as possible. So, finding Silverbolt's room was certainly an interesting enough journey. 

        Eventually, Depth Charge gave up looking on his own and resorted to comming the rat to figure out where he was going. He was laughed at, but still given the location of the fuzor's room. Hanging up without thanks, he headed over there and quickly knocked on the door. 

        "It's open!" Silverbolt answered, voice muffled through the door. 

        Depth Charge opened it and walked inside, hesitating at the scene before him. Luckily he hadn't walked in on any interfacing, but he was still interrupting a clearly intimate moment. Silverbolt was laying on Blackarachnia's lap, her servo brushing through his fur as they cuddled, but now they both looked up surprised by the new presence. "Uh, sorry." 

        He sat up, still remaining close to his lady as he greeted the unexpected guest. "Depth Charge, what a nice surprise! What can I do for you, my friend?" 

        Friend was a strong term, they'd only talked a handful of times and usually much to the annoyance of said mech, who had come here to get some questions answered. "Rattrap told me you know of something that happened with Rampage? Some protoform?" 

        The other mech grew quiet, much to the concern of the spider. "...Transmutate." 

        "Who?" Blackarachnia questioned, before the ray could. 

        Silverbolt looked saddened to the point of pain, but breathed deeply before explaining. "It was, a damaged protoform. I tried to befriend it, to bring it to our side, but Rampage got his hands on it first...I was worried, it was so powerful and unstable, he could have ruined us all with it. However, I think he saw it as a friend, like I did. The Maximals believed it was too dangerous, but it just needed help. Unfortunately, I only brought its destruction, it was destroyed because Rampage and I fought. He mourned Transmutate deeply, as did I." 

        "He what?" Depth Charge questioned. The inquiry should have been more sensitive, as the fuzor was clearly distressed over recalling the situation, but he absolutely had to know, everything. 

        "Rampage was devastated over it. Even if we did not know it long, it still left a mark in our sparks." Turning to the femme for comfort, Silverbolt didn't look like he would be saying much more.

        So, Depth Charge left it at that, thoughts and new questions now rattling around in his processor. "Thanks." He mumbled before walking out, he needed some time to think, then he would see if he could get Rampage's thoughts on it. 

* * *

 

        Rampage was almost always away from the Predacon base, seemingly wanting to put as much distance between himself and the others as possible. Which thankfully made him a lot easier to find and get to. Regardless, he was surprised by the unexpected visit. "Depth Charge, just the mech I wanted to see!"

        "Who's Transmutate?" The aforementioned mech asked, not even finished walking over to him. 

        "Never mind." He muttered, already disinterested in this conversation, that was the last thing he wanted to talk about. 

        "No, I want to know." The other mech pressed, not allowing it to be so easily dismissed. 

        "Why?" He hissed, "Why do you care?" 

        "I've heard about it from Rattrap and Silverbolt, now I want to hear from you." Clearly this mysterious bot had a major impact if the rat could so easily say a cannibalistic ex-experiment would make a decent parent because of it. Not to mention further information from the fuzor only made it all the more apparent that the crab's side needed to be heard. At least before Depth Charge would make any judgement on whether he agreed with the sentiment. 

        " _It_?" The larger bot looked infuriated, thankfully in general and not directly towards him. "Transmutate was my _friend_! They reminded me of myself, how I _used_ to be, how I _wanted_ to be! Powerful, but pure. Your Maximals and those stupid Predacons saw them as a freak! Something useless and meant for the scrapheap!" Servos balling into fists, the mech began to pace. "They were mine! I was going to break free of my chains and _we_ were going to get off this disgusting planet!" The angry pacing slowed. "...But, I couldn't...I couldn't protect them. My only friend, destroyed because of _me_." 

        Depth Charge wasn't sure what to say, conflicted on whether to believe the sincerity of the story. And if he did, was he happy his old enemy got a taste of the pain he had endured?

        Yes he was. "Awful, isn't it? Losing someone you care deeply for," he continued, "Now, imagine if there had been more Transmutate's. Imagine knowing every single one for a millennia or more and then losing every single one." Contempt began to lace his tone, carrying with each word. 

        Rampage went quiet, sitting down and hanging his helm in silent contemplation. "I think I see what you're getting at."

        " _Do you_? Do you really think you understand?" The ray took the angry ranting reigns, "How long did you know them? I can't imagine long. Loss is loss, but you can't even comprehend the helplessness you've made me feel over the years. The hole you ripped into my spark that can never be filled no matter what you do. I hate you, what you did disgusts me. It's always needling the back of my processor, even when we frag, _especially_ when we fight. You may be carrying a part of me in your chassis, but feeling bad over losing one bot? That will never make you worthy of it." 

        "That reminds me..." He finally spoke up again, trying to suppress the urge to retaliate and instead trying to steer the conversation to something less heated. "It appears I'm carrying two sparklings." 

        The Maximal glared at him, doubtful. "And why should I believe you."

        So it would seem the disdain would not so easily shift, "You did before." however his response didn't ease the tension. Nor did it encourage further conversing, instead now leaving them in silence. The whole thing was a mess, talking just turned things complicated, yet it needed to be said. All of it. There would never be any semblance of functionality to their relationship, but at least they could try to communicate enough to get through it. Regardless, mere words would not help right now, there was too much strain between them to properly talk it out. It would only lead to fighting, definitely verbally, likely even physically. 

        That would not fix anything though, right now actions could speak louder than words, so, Rampage spoke. Pushing aside the anxiety that always arose, he allowed the plating protecting his spark to retract. Baring himself to the mech before him, along with the proof of their situation. 

        Any irritation displayed in Depth Charge's body language melted away and was replaced with a growing sense of shocked awe. As much as he tried to hide it, he couldn't, his optics widened and his servo shook as it tentatively reached out, but didn't do much more than that. He was soundless, speechless as he gawked, both at the spark and the smaller light orbiting it, he could only see one, but that didn't matter. The proof was right before him. And as much as he hated to admit it, the much larger spark was...beautiful. His imagination had been filled with a gnarled, ugly thing, or a black hole eager to consume and evil to the core. Instead he was greeted with a soft light and the most intimate sign of life. 

        "Can I-..." He had to reset his vocalizer. "Can I touch you?" 

        No one had asked that before, not once, especially when dealing with Rampage's spark. The question alone took any response from his voicebox, each attempt ending in muted static. Eventually he simply nodded his consent, his vents stalling as he anxiously watched the other mech's servo reach into his chest. The opportunity to pluck his spark from his chassis or squeeze it was very present in his mind, he was so vulnerable. However, his spark seemed to respond positively to the attention, the light reaching out and touching the servo gently brushing through it. 

        Depth Charge was mesmerized, there was no other way to put it. In his servo was the life force of his greatest enemy turned lover, tickling against the pressure points and touching him. The sparkling seemed to reach out as well, sensing its sire and slowing its gradual orbit to feel his presence. It hadn't seemed real, but now he could see his child, _feel_ it. The experience was indescribable. 

        "Beautiful, isn't she?" The other mech breathed. 

        "She," He mumbled back, a soft smile hidden behind his mask as his digit tip gently caressed her, so fragile and small. It was hard to pull his servo away, but he eventually did after a moment. "And the other one?" 

        "Too early to tell." Rampage responded, reaching his own servo into his spark chamber and attempting to move his spark as Tarantulas had, briefly revealing the second spark. 

        Either it was too shy or too small as it did not respond to the ray like the other had. Regardless, Depth Charge had seen it, so, he accepted it. "Wow."

        The carrying mech hummed in agreement, seemingly more focused on him and his reaction. They stood in silence, letting it drag on for a bit, until the crab spoke. "...I didn't think about what I was doing, I didn't know any better and...I didn't care. Now, I see why you hate me so much. I would kill anyone who would try to take these sparklings away from us. I can't bear the thought of losing them...Of losing you," He said nothing, so the other mech continued. "I regret hurting you, now. I know no amount of apologizing will fix what I did to you, but I'm sorry."

        "But you don't regret what you did." He added, reading between the lines. 

        Rampage sighed miserably, shaking his helm. "I don't." And he didn't, likely never would because his own revenge was his justice, but that was so much harder to explain. "Let me show you why." The statement was almost sinister in its mystery, unintentionally, but perhaps fitting when knowing the circumstances. Hopefully the blue mech would trust him enough to allow him to reveal what had happened in the underbelly of Omicron. 

        The ray watched as he closed his spark chamber, protecting the lives within once again, as he instead opened the panel covering his cable and port. He was eyed suspiciously, but this was the least invasive way to connect and show something well...invasive. Finally after a bit more hesitation, the other mech gradually accepted it, allowing him to jack into him and connecting with him in turn as well.

        They could feel each other, much deeper than ever before. It was frightening, but the best way to lay the entire situation out. So, Rampage urged Depth Charge to share his point of view first, his pain, what it was like losing everyone he cared about. Seeing faces he'd passed by in his daily routine, now lifeless and forever nameless, with no one left to properly mourn them. The horror, the anguish, the rage, every thought and negative emotion that flashed or merged. The desire for vengeance, the frustration of each step getting there, only for his efforts to turn pointless thanks to the decision of others. Everything that had happened, up until the beast wars. Only then did he stop sharing, cutting off right before the first time they interfaced. That wasn't something to think about right now. 

        Rampage hesitated, taking in the onslaught of emotions punched right into his systems. He could see now, which made him all the more uncertain. If he shared his side, what had happened to him, it would be more likely for things to spiral further out of control rather than solve anything. Not to mention the thought of reliving his past...terrified him, but if he didn't, things were guaranteed to get worse. So, finally he relented. 

        Nativity and innocence were not the things Depth Charge was expecting to get hit with. Clearly he had spent too much time brooding in his own imagination, believing the mech before him to be born of pure evil. But, it seemed such was not the case. There had been a child stage to the murderer he knew now, the purity made his spark hurt, seeming to know what was to come even if his processor did not. He knew the Predacon had been experimented on, one wasn't simply born with immortality. However, with growing horror, he was gradually shown the full extent of the experimentation. 

        A young, average spark, subjected to procedures more agonizing with each one. Twisted, ripped, squeezed, stabbed, drowned, shocked, and torn apart, too many times to keep track of. Day in, day out, never ending pain. Restless night cycles filled with both phantom and physical aches, only to be dragged into another day just like the last. Pain, repeat, trial, repeat, error, repeat. All blurring into one mess of suffering, every second. Until success finally happened, however, it didn't bring relief, the celebration of torturers brought no joy to the victim. And yet, even with the accomplishment, it wasn't enough.

        Depth Charge felt his spark go cold at that revelation. Figuring out how to make a spark immortal may have been the end goal, but it was far from the end of the experiments. Because, once one messed with the very soul of a Cybertronian, what was to stop them from crossing more moral boundaries? There had been no ethics to start, the line had been crossed long ago and sadists were left to unleash their darkest questions and discover answers to their deep fantasies. 

        He wanted to say the worst part was he recognized some of these 'scientists', but it wasn't. He could name some of them, even recall all of their family members, bots he had known and protected were given free reign for vile acts. The distress from the mech he was hooked up to was tangible and he wasn't fairing much better, his tanks twisting the more the secrets were revealed. 

        One of their favourite things to test was the durability of interface equipment. Taking great pleasure in violating and marking the area. Their abuse going on for so long and so brutally that the acts began to leave scars. With a frame run so dry and exhausted, even an immortal spark couldn't keep up with all of the damage being afflicted. Which only boosted their malicious egos further, knowing they were breaking the unbreakable. 

        It was inevitable, Depth Charge threw up. Loudly and violently. Feeling dirty to his very core and hating it. He didn't know what to think, couldn't think, it was easier to just be disgusted by the entire situation. It was too much, he was overwhelmed even if the playback had finally stopped. He had to disconnect and he did, quickly, but not quick enough. Through the second it took for them to disentangled themselves from each other's systems, a whisper of an emotion had still slipped through. There was too much for him to focus on right now, but he couldn't help noticing the hint before it disappeared. Rampage felt love, for him. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter is awkward, and full of regret (Both from me and the characters, haha) But if I do continue this, it'll smooth out gradually throughout the chapters. So, thank you for reading, feedback is encouraged and appreciated ^-^


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